Wow, I can't believe how much has changed in the year and a half since I last posted. Not because I'm so committed to posting, obviously, but because so much has happened. Let's see my first postpartum client I spoke about in the last post was amazing. The twins were wonderful to work with. I had the mom tandem feeding them in less than a week. Baby boy had a hard time latching on at first but after a few days he caught up with big sister. I learned so much in the six weeks I spent with them. I've worked with seven or eight families since and each one teaches me something new.
I love postpartum work; working with newborns and new families is so rewarding. Because I was doing contract work for a local agency, work was sporadic at best. I spent many nights worried whether or not I'd have a paycheck the following week. I was still trying to attend births. I had my first birth in September and it was amazing! That same birth client referred me to my second client. Mama #2 had her baby in a birthing center and the midwife really liked the way I worked and referred my third. Things were starting to pick up but they weren't consistent enough for me to make a living.
In November 2010 I did a job for a family that lives in my area. It was a very stressful time for my partner and I. Bills were getting paid but barely. The family approached with with an offer to stay on as their nanny and I declined for weeks. The more money the offered the harder it was to say no. Anyhow, long story short I signed on with them because of the money AND because they were totally supportive of my birth doula work. They let me leave to go to births when I needed to; it was an arrangement made in heaven. Seriously, I totally credit God for that.
Then two things happened. As the baby got older he began attending more activities and at the same time I began attending more births. It wasn't fair that the little one had to miss his activities because I was away. I had so many requests that I had to turn clients away because of the difficulty finding back up on short notice. Things were just getting too stressful for everyone. So here I was, full circle, back where I started from. Steady paycheck versus living by faith that God would provide. It sounds like it would be a struggle but there were so many factors involved. Again, like last time, everything around me was pulling me towards leaving. So many amazing people and events had come into my life that I knew God was preparing the road for me. I was so sad to leave the baby. I cried for days before I left and days after. I see him every couple of weeks or so and I still get sad when I have to leave him. But he is well taken care of and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to be a part of his life.
I started writing here again today for a few reasons. During those months that I worked as a nanny I started taking better care of myself. I've lost just short of eighty pounds. Who knew eating healthy and exercising could lead to weight loss! Go figure! So I want to chronicle the loss of my last twenty five or so pounds. I was also asked to join a very successful doula group and am learning so much from these amazing women I want to share it with...well... all two of my readers! I'm averaging two births a month now and hoping to pick up more soon. Really though, I just feel like I have a lot to say and I need a place to put it all.
My life has changed so much in the last year or so and there are no signs of it letting up anytime soon. I want to share it with you, my tales of joy.
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